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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| Lawyer died after fire at untidy London flat, inquest hears | Lawyer died after fire at untidy London flat, inquest hears |
| (about 22 hours later) | |
| Ian Paton died from carbon monoxide poisoning hastened by heart disease after small blaze at cluttered property | |
| Caroline Davies | |
| Wed 13 Sep 2017 16.34 BST | |
| Last modified on Mon 27 Nov 2017 17.05 GMT | |
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| A senior criminal barrister who was “notoriously untidy” died after piles of paper in his cluttered London flat caught fire, an inquest has heard. | A senior criminal barrister who was “notoriously untidy” died after piles of paper in his cluttered London flat caught fire, an inquest has heard. |
| Ian Paton, 66, who also sat as a crown court recorder, was found by firefighters unconscious in his bedroom on 20 December. There was evidence of a small blaze around a halogen stove. | Ian Paton, 66, who also sat as a crown court recorder, was found by firefighters unconscious in his bedroom on 20 December. There was evidence of a small blaze around a halogen stove. |
| In a written statement to Southwark coroner’s court, his ex-wife, Elizabeth Paton, said: “He was notoriously untidy. He was by far the most untidy man most people ever met. His flat was too much of a mess to be conducive to work in.” | In a written statement to Southwark coroner’s court, his ex-wife, Elizabeth Paton, said: “He was notoriously untidy. He was by far the most untidy man most people ever met. His flat was too much of a mess to be conducive to work in.” |
| He also found it difficult to sleep after working long, irregular hours, she added. | He also found it difficult to sleep after working long, irregular hours, she added. |
| Barry Kent, a fire brigade investigator, said firefighters found the flat littered with papers and files, and Paton was lying close to the bedroom door. | Barry Kent, a fire brigade investigator, said firefighters found the flat littered with papers and files, and Paton was lying close to the bedroom door. |
| “Most of the work surfaces were full of stuff. You could just about make out the shape of an electric hob,” he said. | “Most of the work surfaces were full of stuff. You could just about make out the shape of an electric hob,” he said. |
| Burn patterns indicated the fire probably started in or around the hob and spread to paperand then to a chair and “stuff on the floor”, he added. | Burn patterns indicated the fire probably started in or around the hob and spread to paperand then to a chair and “stuff on the floor”, he added. |
| An internal alarm was working and could be heard from the corridor outside the Bermondsey flat. | An internal alarm was working and could be heard from the corridor outside the Bermondsey flat. |
| A postmortem examination found the lawyer died from carbon monoxide poisoning hastened by heart disease. Blood tests showed he was 1.5 times over the legal drink-drive limit and showed traces of the sleeping pill Zopiclone. | A postmortem examination found the lawyer died from carbon monoxide poisoning hastened by heart disease. Blood tests showed he was 1.5 times over the legal drink-drive limit and showed traces of the sleeping pill Zopiclone. |
| His ex-wife said Paton “was not a regular drinker, and rarely has he ever drank in my company”, but noted that he died a few days before Christmas, a time of “festive lunches” where drinking was common. | His ex-wife said Paton “was not a regular drinker, and rarely has he ever drank in my company”, but noted that he died a few days before Christmas, a time of “festive lunches” where drinking was common. |
| The assistant coroner Shanta Deonarine concluded that Paton died as a result of an accident, with the cause of death recorded as carbon monoxide poisoning. | The assistant coroner Shanta Deonarine concluded that Paton died as a result of an accident, with the cause of death recorded as carbon monoxide poisoning. |
| In a tribute read to the court, Elizabeth Paton said they had recently reconciled five years after their divorce, and her ex-husband had planned to give notice to his chambers within days and had been looking forward to working part-time from her Wiltshire cottage. | In a tribute read to the court, Elizabeth Paton said they had recently reconciled five years after their divorce, and her ex-husband had planned to give notice to his chambers within days and had been looking forward to working part-time from her Wiltshire cottage. |
| “Ian’s tragic death, coming when it did, has robbed him of so much anticipated and planned happiness. It has left Alexandra, my daughter, and me utterly bereft,” she said. “He was optimistic and very much looking forward to what we thought were going to be our golden years together.” | “Ian’s tragic death, coming when it did, has robbed him of so much anticipated and planned happiness. It has left Alexandra, my daughter, and me utterly bereft,” she said. “He was optimistic and very much looking forward to what we thought were going to be our golden years together.” |
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